Sleep Under the Stars

We love to arrange safaris that get you right out into the wilds of Africa – yet still in comfort with great food and guides. One of the real joys is to spend a night sleeping out under the stars. The sounds of Africa are all around you. You look up into a huge starry sky and are lulled to sleep to the distant call of the leopard.

On your Kenya safari we can arrange for you to sleep out for a night. You’ll treasure the memory forever. From Sabuk lodge in Northern Kenya we can arrange for you to set off on a walk through spectacular country with cheerful scarlet clad Maasai guides. Your overnight luggage and all the equipment goes on camels. After a few hours your guides set up a simple camp, build a fire and cook a delicious dinner. Reminisce about your day’s adventures and sing around the camp fire under a huge starry sky feeling you have the whole of Africa to yourselves.

Another superb place for a sleepout is Loisaba Lodge. They have built two “Starbeds” which are large elevated wooden platforms complete with beds and showers. The Starbeds are in a remote scenic part of the reserve. You wake to the sound of birdcall and may find a few elephant browsing below you as a big orange sun emerges from the horizon to begin another day’s adventures in Africa. From Loisaba you can also take a walking safari, a horseback safari and quadbikes. The reserve is vast and private and far from the crowds of striped vans.

Further south is superb Ol Donyo Lodge, also on a private reserve near Amboseli. The luxury lodges have been designed with a stairway leading to a flat roof where you can sleep under the stars. This is big elephant country and huge herds of buffalo roam the savannah plains and wetlands not far from snow-capped Kilimanjaro.

At Africa Exclusive we design each safari to perfectly match your dreams. Contact us now to plan your own unique adventure.

Loisaba Star Beds - Kenya

The Star Beds are part of an exciting new joint venture project that Loisaba has undertaken in partnership with the Laikipiak Maasai people from the Koija community. Each Star Bed is dramatically designed on a handcrafted wooden raised platform and is partially covered with a thatched roof.

Homemade ‘Mukokoteni’ (uniquely designed bed on wheels’), can either be wheeled onto the open deck area for a night under the stars, or left under the shelter of the roof. All the beds have complete ‘four-poster’ insect netting and each platform is en-suite and has a large camp-style shower.

Both the Kiboko and Koija Star Beds comprise of two double sleeping platforms and one family platform. Each double platform is designed for 1 or 2 people. The family platform can accommodate 4 people (sharing bathroom facilities) and all are situated to ensure complete privacy. They are normally reached by one of many options; on foot, horse, camel or vehicle. Guests are guided and hosted by a team of traditional Samburu and Laikipiak Maasai warriors. Food is prepared in a traditional camp kitchen, barbeque style.

Ol Donyo - Kenya

There is a wide range of activities on offer at Ol Donyo Lodge with the excellent guides taking guests on safari by open 4×4 vehicle by day and at night, on foot with armed trackers learning about the smaller flora and fauna or even on horseback riding amongst herds of giraffe and zebra oblivious to your presence. Time can also be spent mountain biking on the open plains, sleeping out on the Kopjes at “Seduction Rock”, enjoying bush breakfasts at sunrise or dinners under the stars and there is even the opportunity to take in the culture of the area and visit an authentic Maasai village.

Sabuk - Kenya

You will set off with a professional safari guide and a team of trained Laikipiak Maasai warriors as you pass through completely deserted tracts of wilderness: no other tourists, no roads or vehicles, only wildlife and their tracks, breathtaking scenery, the sounds of the bush, just Africa.

You will overnight at a small fly camp which will be set up in a beautiful spot usually by the river where you can enjoy dinner under the stars with the sounds of Africa around you. Your simple but comfortable accommodation comprises netted tents with thick mattresses and just behind each sleeping tent is a separate tent with a bush shower and long drop loo.

Little Kulala - Namibia

Little Kulala is one of the most luxurious lodges in Namibia, located in the private 21,000 hectares Kulala Reserve, which is the only reserve with the direct access to the amazing apricot coloured dunes of Sossusvlei.

Each suite also has a flat roof top “skybed” where you can choose to sleep out, literally under a huge star filled sky, the crystal clear desert air and freedom from light pollution filling the sky with an amazing variety of stars and planets.

Abu Camp - Botswana

Abu Camp, situated on the western side of the Okavango Delta in a pristine wilderness threaded by crystal waters is the base for a safari truly unique on the African continent. Riding an African elephant amidst such magnificent scenery is an absolutely unforgettable experience which is available only to the very privileged few.

Kalahari Plains Camp - Botswana

Kalahari Plains Camp is a simple yet comfortable tented camp constructed along quite traditional lines. Accommodation is in one of ten spacious, walk-in tents erected on wooden platforms, each with a private deck and view over the surrounding plains. Rustic rather than basic in style, each tent has zip-up doors, roll-up canvas windows and cosy twin or double beds, with a roll-up canvas flap leading through to the en suite bathroom which is fitted with a flush toilet, twin sinks and large walk-in shower. Solar power provides electricity and hot water. Each tent also includes a raised upstairs platform allowing for sleep-outs.

Baines' Camp - Botswana

Set amongst the shady trees and water of the Okavango Delta, the small and intimate Baines’ Camp features just five luxurious suites set on elevated platforms in the tree line. Wooden decks offer expansive views over the permanent water of the Boro River and a lagoon teeming with life.

The elevated suites feature a spacious bedroom and the beds are fully mobile, giving guests the choice of slumber under star-laden skies. The main area features an oversize deck for outdoor dining and views over the permanent water of the lagoon, as well as a swimming pool for cooling off in the heat of the day.

Sanctuary Makanyane Luxury Safari Lodge - South Africa

Sanctuary Makanyane Luxury Safari Lodge is beautifully situated on private land in Madikwe. This region of South Africa’s North West province is Malaria free. The lodge is very exclusive with occupancy for just sixteen guests. It offers exceptional wildlife viewing with all of the ‘Big 5′ animals available to see in a private and unique environment. Sanctuary Makanyane Luxury Safari Lodge offers a slice of luxury with the air conditioned bedroom suites, spa treatments and exceptional cuisine and wine.

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Why should you book with us?

One of the leading Africa travel specialists for over 25 years, our team has hundreds of years of combined travel experience.

Our specialists have a personal understanding of the destinations they are recommending for you.

You will have your travel planner and a dedicated co-ordinator ensure that you receive the best service from the moment you first contact us until you return from your holiday.

Our detailed planning and preparation will ensure that your holiday runs like clockwork.

Experience impeccable service throughout your holiday with the support of our dedicated and experienced partners on the ground.

We have a 24 hour emergency phone contact, should you need to speak with us while you are away.

Luxury safari pricing guide

We aim to provide you with your ideal holiday, individually designed just for you and expertly organised. When you book with us you receive this perfectly designed holiday, travel advice and preparation, flawless organisation of the trip, ATOL financial protection and our 25 years’ experience. Because we have excellent confidential rates with lodges and airlines, the price of your holiday will be generally the same as you would pay were you to somehow book all the lodges, transfers and flights yourself.

There is a world of difference between one of our tailormade safaris and most package holidays printed in a brochure. Package holidays are usually designed to be as cheap as possible and of course involve large numbers of people doing the same thing. Our safaris use small, more exclusive and remote camps usually with guests flying in, and often virtually everything is included in the price. The experience is completely different.

Many of these small lodges and camps have broadly similar prices, and it is possible to arrange a superb safari holiday for between £6,000 to £10,000 per person ($8,000 – $13,000) season dependant, all inclusive. Realistically it is difficult to reduce that figure, and by including Botswana in peak season, chartering a private plane, disappearing to some magical desert island, or flying at the front of the plane it’s easy to substantially increase that figure!